The First Hunter

Chapter 32. The Moon of Seoul, Part II

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

4.

Early at dawn, a conversation started at the highest point of Namsan Tower, aiming to end the turmoil.

It was Kim Tae-hoon who said the first words when the two faced one another. “I want you to delegate all the authority of the Capital Defense Command to the Mac Guild.”

It was a strong punch from the start. Kim asked for the full authority of the Capital Defense Command without any negotiation. It was like asking for Seoul. It was like asking for the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea. And it was like asking for everything that Lee Hyuk had.

“No.” Lee Hyuk rejected Kim’s proposal without any consideration. “I admit my mistake, but I don’t think that’s the kind of thing that gives away the full authority of the Capital Defense Command.”

It was never a grudge of Lee Hyuk, and it was not an endless grudge. At this moment, he was drawing a picture.

‘There is still room for negotiation. I can’t threaten Kim, but I can threaten what he has.’

‘Clearly, I cannot stop Kim. If Kim resolves to do so, he can render most of the officers of the Capital Defense Command into dead bodies. But he cannot kill the Capital Defense Command itself. It should not be possible.’

‘Once that happens, the Capital Defense Command will not be silent. It will do its best in any way. The area of the capital will be filled with terrible scenes.’

‘Even if all the officials of the Capital Defense Command die, it will be a problem. Many of the soldiers who lost their command posts will follow Kim, but not all of them. In addition, how do uncontrolled soldiers behave?’

‘Clearly, uncontrolled soldiers are not any different from monsters. If they make a fuss, the damage will leave a great scar on the Mac Guild, even if they don’t touch Kim himself.’

That was what Lee Hyuk thought.

On top of that, Lee Hyuk planned to add a game changer.

‘I’m making a deal with Colonel Lim Hyun-joon. Then, if I can’t reverse the situation, I can avoid the worst. The Mac Guild’s greatest weakness is their number of men. That is a very lethal weakness. Winning the war is possible with a small number of troops, but managing the land cannot be done with a small number of troops. The only thing that can fill this weakness is the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division, which is now the only one available in the current situation, and if I succeed in appeasing the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division, the situation will be reversed.’

“I’ll give you a hundred relics, including twenty national treasures, and you can go to the Bank of Korea’s safe and pick them up free.”

In other words, the price for this operation would be paid for with relics. No, from the perspective of Lee Hyuk, it was necessary to pay for it. Only then could he keep his position and think of the future. He knew it was not fair, and he knew that a guilty man was pulling a really dirty trick for his own good.

But if he thought that was wrong, he could not do anything.

‘I can give him the liver and gallbladder, but I can’t give him the heart.’

“I want one thing.” On the contrary, Kim did not intend to negotiate against Lee Hyuk’s resolution, aim, and attempt.

“If you don’t want to give it to me, it’s war.” Now was time to get the reward for the groundwork.

“War… then you’ll kill me first.”

“I don’t intend to do that, because the power of the Eighth Mechanized Infantry Division under the Mac Guild is enough to win a full-scale war against the Capital Defense Command.”

The strategic move, where Kim had made Colonel Lim Hyun-joon of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division a subordinate, became checkmate.

“What, what is this…” Lee Hyuk stopped himself from saying more, and then he stroked his mouth with his hand. At this moment, he had a suspicion.

‘Colonel Lim Hyun-joon is an ambitious man, whose ambition is so high that all the military leaders know it. He is a man who will do almost anything to achieve his ambition! He wants to be the king of a new kingdom, rather than a country official.’

That was why Colonel Lim had rejected Lee Hyuk’s proposals so far.

It was common sense, Lee Hyuk must have tried to win over Colonel Lim to his side. He even suggested Colonel take the second place in the ranking, but he also rejected that proposal.

Who did Colonel Lim go under? No way! Lee Hyuk could not imagine it had happened.

‘However, if it is Kim Tae-hoon, I should re-evaluate. It is possible for Kim Tae-hoon to win over Colonel Lim to his side, and to bluff with it.’

‘Of course, Kim may be bluffing. If he succeeds in accepting a declaration of surrender through falsehood, it will be recorded in history as a very good negotiation. In fact, there are not many historical events created by a three-inch long tongue.’

But when did Kim make contact with Colonel Lim? He had to cross Seoul to get in touch with Pocheon from Bucheon. Was there any other way?

Lee Hyuk’s worries began.

“The choice is one of two.” Kim Tae-hoon released his worries.

“You can either take responsibility for this and step back from the front line and delegate all your powers to me, or you can be recorded in three lines in a history book that will be published about ten years from now, mentioning Lee Hyuk’s rebellion.”

Among the two choices, he did not need to worry about the results.

Hoo… Lee Hyuk gave a long sigh. ‘This is my end.’

“I’ll delegate my full power.”

5.

Kaboom! The fireworks began to explode over Namsan Tower, and they were more brilliant than ever. Even the small stars were shining in the sky of Seoul, where the pollution had disappeared and the world had stopped. Thanks to this, the light of the pyrotechnics that started to burn around Namsan Tower could be seen anywhere in Seoul.

“Success.” A man who was far away and not able to see Namsan Tower without a telescope could still see the lights.

“Kim Tae-hoon succeeded.” Colonel Lim immediately pulled his eyes off the telescope. What came into his eyes were dozens of tanks with their gun barrels aimed toward Seoul, armed soldiers hiding in the shadows created by the tanks, and artillery waiting for orders all over the place.

They were the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division. Since the advent of the monsters, they were the veteran warriors who had protected the northern part of Gyeonggi, the Gangwon area, and the front line from Pocheon. They were all equipped to advance to Seoul with their lives once they were ordered to attack.

“We stand by as we are,” Colonel Lim ordered them briefly. It was a word to quiet the storm.

—–

“Okay, it’s boss.” There was a person in Yeouido who checked the flares dotted around Namsan Tower with a telescope.

Jang, who checked the flares, ordered, “Now, let’s get ready to enter Seoul.”

Jang looked at the troops that were ready to cross the Han River at any time with the order. Now was when the owner of Seoul had changed, and when the newly changed owner would give his first impression to those who would follow him.

—

Finally, there were those who checked the flares near the Han River. They could see Namsan and they were gathered around a ship that floated alone on the Han River.

“What happened?”

“I think they’ve been killed.”

“What about Major General Lee Ki-soo?”

“It looks like he is dead.”

They were ninjas dressed in black.

“Those idiots.”

They numbered ten. Only one of them was wearing white, not black.

But it didn’t feel clean, and the fiery eyes behind the mask were sharp, and the spirit that was coming from his body was very fierce.

“I can’t even save a man. I have to report a mission failure! What a disgrace!”

At the growling of the man named Kazami Hayato, the nine men left turned their eyes or bowed their heads. They had no words to say in excuse, so Hayato turned and looked at Namsan Tower again. His face was not good as he watched the bright light of the flares.

‘All right’, but his mind was different.

‘The mission is complete,’ Hayato Kazami said to himself. The order he had received before leaving the Japanese archipelago was to support Major General Lee Ki-soo. They wanted to make a tool of Lee Ki-soo. But as soon as he stepped on the Korean Peninsula, he was given a new order: “If you have a chance, kill Lee Ki-soo!”

‘All I have to do is report to my master.’

The order was issued by a man named Musashi, who had saved Tokyo from hell, and was ordered by the man named Musashi who now wanted to establish a new Japan.

‘This will enable us to invade Korea.’

Musashi. No one knew his real name, and no one cared about it. He was called Musashi and treated like a Savior. He had a great ambition. ‘If Japan could occupy Korea…’

The first thing to do for that ambition was to get out of Japan. It was not the job of only Musashi. It was the process of all those who had ruled Japan earlier, and those who had tried to advance beyond Japan to a wider stage. It was also the reality that Japan was facing.

The Japanese archipelago was not good for living in isolation, the land was too constrained to have their ambition realized. That was why Japan had always sought the Korean Peninsula in history.

But Musashi and Japan had been hiding this ambition, because the forces of Lee Ki-soo, supported by the Six Snakes, had settled on the Korean Peninsula. In the situation that Lee Ki-soo played a good role, the Six Snakes would not allow Musashi to advance to Korea. In other words, if Lee Ki-soo died, only the antagonists against the Six Snakes would be left on the Korean Peninsula, and there was no reason for the Six Snakes to stop Japan from entering here.

Hayato felt the time was coming, and he felt that Japan would repeat its history from a century ago, but it would produce a different result this time! Based on the lessons learned a century ago, he was sure they could really build an empire this time! At such thoughts, he was smiling without knowing it.

“No other alternative, we’re the only ones on the move,” he said, trying to hide his smile.

“Yes!” All nine ninjas bowed their heads.

‘Huh?’ At that moment Hayato was able to see a person who did not bow to him.

‘What is this guy?’ Hayato was so embarrassed that he forgot to be angry. Coming to his senses, he immediately made his eyes fierce. He had turned into a fierce lion and took a dagger from his waistband. He threw the weapon, called a kunai, at the man who was staring straight at him.

The Kunai flew away with a creepy sound. Then it stopped.

‘Uh?’ It stopped in the air, and everyone was surprised. Hayato’s men were surprised that Hayato had suddenly thrown it, and Hayato was surprised at the sight in front of him.

Kaboom! Another firework was fired from the tower above Namsan, and the light of the flare, which was a particularly bright, sparkled in the new man’s black Eyes.

6.

A blue flame rose in the blackness of the darkness, coming from the burning of paper dolls. Nineteen dolls were burning, and only one doll remained intact. A woman was seen dimly between the blue will-o’-the-wisps. She was wearing priestess robes that could be seen at a Japanese shrine.

Another woman came into the darkroom where the woman was. “Musashi is coming.”

At the words of the woman who was wearing the same clothes as her, the priestess in the darkroom rose from her seat, came out of the chamber, and showed herself. She was a beauty with bobbed hair.

In front of her was a wide-open land, a deep moat that girded it, and collapsed buildings waiting for dawn beyond the moat.

Edo Castle was the place where the woman stood; only the site and the buildings remained, instead of the splendid castle.

A group of people was approaching her with the rattling of armor. They were samurai dressed like those from the Sengoku period, and the sound of armor rose with every step.

At the head of such samurai, the only man wearing kimono without armor showed his slender build.

He was barely over 160 centimeters tall, and he looked young. His skin was lovely, soft and smooth. He was a handsome man with a youthful appearance.

He was a man unusual in many ways, but the most unusual thing was the sword which a man was wearing at his waist. Even though he had put the sword in the black sheath, the light from the sword came out through the sheath and illuminated its surroundings like a beacon.

Musashi. With the emergence of the monsters, he was the man who had saved Tokyo, who was saving Japan, and who would save even the future of Japan.

“Is everyone dead?” Musashi asked as he stood in front of the shrine maiden.

She bowed her head once and answered, “The only one who survives among the twenty is Hayato.”

“What about contact?”

“Okjo hasn’t come yet.”

“Kazami is an outstanding man. He’ll tell us after he escapes. So, what about him?”

At his question, the woman opened her eyes.

There was a smile on the mouth of Musashi. “It’s time to set sail,” he said through the smile.